Lost scenes from Metropolis found
The original version of Fritz Lang's fantastic science fiction film Metropolis was first seen in Berlin in 1927. Shortly after, Paramount recut the film to (over)simplify the plot. From then on, it was thought that at least 1/4 of the whole film ended up on the editing room floor where it was swept into the dustbin of history. Recently though, much of the lost footage was rediscovered. According to ZEITmagazin, several of the rediscovered scenes are essential to the film's plot. The magazine has the story about how the missing reels ended up in the private collection of a film critic in the late 1920s or so, and eventually came to light again. From ZEITmagazin (poster image from Wikipedia):
Lang's Metropolis rediscovered (ZEITmagazine, thanks COOP!)Among the footage that has now been discovered, according to the unanimous opinion of the three experts that ZEITmagazin asked to appraise the pictures, there are several scenes which are essential in order to understand the film: The role played by the actor Fritz Rasp in the film for instance, can finally be understood. Other scenes, such as for instance the saving of the children from the worker’s underworld, are considerably more dramatic...
The rediscovered material is in need of restoration after 80 years; the pictures are scratched, but clearly recognizable. Martin Koerber, the restorer of the hitherto longest known version of “Metropolis”, who also examined the footage, said to ZEITmagazin: “No matter how bad the condition of the material may be, the original intention of the film, including all of its minor characters and subplots, is now once again tangible for the normal viewer. The rhythm of the film has been restored.”
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Are we sure this isn't just a trick to get us all to buy yet another "exclusive extended edition" of Metropolis?
Actually, this is fantastic news. I can't wait to see it.
Either way, we will buy it anyway. : )
I thought the film was in the public domain now, its over at Archive.org (though not with these scenes) and the question becomes if the film is released in the new form, is it under 2008 copyright or in the public domain?
dear boing boing,
You omited to mention that the footage was discovered in Buenos Aires. An article in today's Clarín newspaper (in spainsh: http://www.revistaenie.clarin.com/notas/2008/07/04/01708539.html) explains that what was found was a version of Metropolis in 16 mm, reduced from the original 35 mm version that was shown in Buenos Aires in 1928.
Apparently what happened was that in Argentina the original version was shown whereas in the rest of the world an edited U.S. distribution version was circulated.
This is cool. I saw this a few years ago because I'm a fan of the 2001 Osama Tesuka movie which is inspired by the Fritz Lang Film. It had lots of holes, and I'm interested in seeing the complete version.
wow, i wonder how long till the restoration is out? or if he needs funding to help with restoration.
can you imagine the outpouring from us geek-types if he was willing to trade copies of the final product, for funding for resto???
somewhat like members of the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto, but a film version....
i'm slowly being ground down by the gears of industry myself, art would be such a refreshing change
Yay!
omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg
Having read the original Thea von Harbou book (with gorgeous art nouveau/deco illustratons by William Michael Kaluta) I am practically jumping out of my skin to see one of my favorite films ever as it was intended. I'm half disappointed Freddy Mercury didn't live to score this version, but I'll survive.
@ #5 Foolster41: Just to keep things accurate, the name is OSAMU Tezuka, the "God of Manga." We wouldn't want the same people who can't differentiate between Osama and Obama to get confused. Tezuka's version of Metropolis bears only accidental resemblance to Lang's, mostly because Tezuka had only seen the poster above, not the film or the book.
This is huge news for me. I'm a big fan of film and Metropolis has been my favorite film for over 30 years. I've seen every version of it a number of times. There's just nothing else like it. I so hope that a new version will be available soon with all available material restored. And I hope even more that this wonderful artifact will never be spoiled by a remake.
Best ever Metropolis experience: 1996 at the Detroit Institute of Arts with live musical score by The Alloy Orchestra. marvelous!
Great news! In a way it's appropriate that it turned up in Argentina; the Buenos Aires-Berlin connection is well-known and well traveled.
This is a movie I will certainly double dip for extended footage. I remember first seeing Metropolis with the colored frames and rock score. I finally got a torrent of the laser disc of that. I have the Kino Video Restored Authorized Version on DVD. Can't wait to get the next restoration.
@ #4 POSTED BY FUTURATRONICS , JULY 4, 2008 1:46 PM
Yes, the film itself has fallen into the public domain, but the way I understand all other versions restored afterwards are controlled under copyright since those restored versions are controlled under copyright.
So if you find a 16mm film source of Metropolis and digitize it, you are free and clear. But if you take the 1984 "rock" version and dupe it, you are breaking the law.
In the case of this new footage, it depends on who releases it and what they want to do.
But my general feeling with classic films is you truly get what you pay for. So if you simply want to torrent an AVI, go ahead. But if you want an HDTV version you should pay for that kind of transfer and conversion.
Some of the new (or old, depending on your outlook on things) footage can be seen on this German news item - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq2Uc61YRMY Unfortunately my German is terrible so I have no idea what they're saying but I think the gist is the same as the article.
Just keep George Lucas away from the new footage.
Just keep George Lucas away from the new footage., and keep an eye on Moroder for good measure.
This is awesome, beautiful, fantastic news. I can't wait to see it.
#8: Farm: Thanks for the correction. Yeah, there's not a whole lot of similarity between Lang's and Osamu's, I was just pointing out since I was a fan of the later that's why I saw the former.